Noelle's Hero
by theonewhowrotetatertots
Summary: My first attempt at a Jenthro fic. JenJethro So far it's an in progress story..Ideas for next chappie would be greatly appreciated...Thanx and r&r. K to be safe..


Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS or the characters..I own Noelle Sheppard.

Summary: What does one do when no babysitter is avaliable? Bring the kid to work of course.

Author's Note: Includes refrences to Jen's past with Gibbs...Possible Jenthro...

Noelle's Hero

"Noelle who was on the phone?" NCIS Director Jen Sheppard asked her seven year old daughter Noelle.

"Laura, she's not coming." the red-headed seven year old answered.

Jen looked at her daughter in disbelief, she was already late for work and she had to find a babysitter for her daughter.

"Now what?" she asked the seven year old.

Noelle shrugged her shoulders and gave her mother a thoughtful look.

"I could come with you." the girl suggested.

Jen considered that possibility for a moment and decided she didn't have time to stand here and ponder the idea, she had to get to work.

"Okay, get your shoes on."

Noelle lept up from the end of Jen's bed and raced to her room to get her shoes.

Ten minutes later, Noelle was buckled in the back seat.

"Mom, who's going to watch me while you're working?" Noelle asked as they backed out of the driveway.

"I'm not sure yet." Jen replied as she fought to apply her mascara evenly.

"Mom." Noelle began.

"What Noelle?"

"I'm hungry."

Jen rolled her eyes and dug around in her purse for something suitable for her daughter to eat.

"Here." she said, handing the girl a granola bar. "Next time eat breakfast."

"I forgot."

Jen pulled into the parking lot at NCIS headquarters twenty five minutes later. Noelle unbuckled her seat belt.

"Ewww mom I got yucky stuff on my dress!." Noelle jumped from the back of the car and tried to brush the sticky crumbs from the granola bar off her dress.

"We'll deal with it later Noelle, I'm late for work." Jen took Noelle's hand and they quickly walked to the entrance.

The security gaurd at the door gave Noelle a Visitor's Pass and clipped one onto her backpack as well.

"Don't take 'em off or else." he said in a pretend gruff voice.

"Or else what?" Noelle whispered, leaning closer to the man.

"Or else you get thrown in the brig."

"That's nothing. When mom's mad, she puts me in time outs in the closet." Noelle said. She jerked her thumb at her mother for emphasis.

"Noelle Colleen." Jen warned.

Noelle grinned at the security gaurd and followed her mother. The big burly man saluted Noelle as she passed by.

"Give me your coat and go sit at that desk over there. I have to take care of a few things." Jen instructed her daughter. Noelle obeyed and tossed her black wool pea coat to her mother, and skipped down the aisle towards the desk her mother had pointed out.

Noelle was so intent on skipping, that she didn't see the man standing in front of her until it was too late. With an "oof" she crashed right into the man, the force of the collision nearly rocketed the little girl backwards. A strong grip grabbed her elbow.

"Hold on there." the man said. He knelt down at Noelle's eye level.

"Sorry." Noelle said, her blue eyes flickered fear. She didn't know what this man would do to her.

"It's okay. Are you alright?" the man asked. Noelle nodded. "What's your name?" the man asked.

"Noelle Colleen Sheppard." Noelle answered. "Who are you?" she then asked, suddenly confident.

"Special Agent Jethro Gibbs." the man replied. He stuck out his hand for the girl to shake.

"Nice to meet you. My mom talks about you all the time." Noelle said, "My mom is the Director."

Gibbs nodded, but didn't say anything in reply. The wheels in his mind began to turn as he stared at the child in front of him, her blue eyes radiating into his own. He knew that Jen's eyes were brown, not blue. He also knew that this little girl was too old to be the product of Jen's last relationship, which ended not so long ago. Silently he rose and tugged on one of Noelle's red/brown braids. She giggled, revealing a dimple in her left cheek.

"Where are you going?" Noelle asked.

"I have to go talk to your mom." Gibbs said. His famous gut was telling him that something more had happened between himself and Jen in Paris. His famous gut was telling him that he was about to become a father, to a seven year old redhead.

Jen got settled in her office, and went to MTAC. She had a meeting with Sec-Nav in ten minutes. When she walked into MTAC, Jethro was standing in the middle of the room, his back to her.

"Jethro." Jen greeted curtly. She stood beside him in silence. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed him sipping from his large coffee cup.

"You have a pretty spunky little girl Jen." Gibbs said casually, hoping Jen would take a bite at the bait he threw her.

"Noelle's always been like that. She's stubborn too." Jen replied. They stood in silence for a moment longer, both facing forward. "What are you getting at Jethro?"

"Nothing. Just said she was cute was all."

"Spunky."

"What?"

"You didn't say she was cute, you said she was spunky." Jen clairified.

"I guess I did."

Jen sighed and turned to Jethro.

"Jethro." she began to say.

"Sec-Nav for you Madam Director." one of the tech's said. Jen closed her eyes and cleared her thoughts before she began her conversation with the Secretary of the Navy. Her conversation with Gibbs would have to wait until later.

"I'm bored." Noelle complained. She twirled in a chair and wished she was at home with a babysitter.

"Why don't you make a pretty picture for your mommy." Special Agent Tony DiNozzo suggested.

Noelle gave him a sidelong glance and snorted.

"I'm seven." she said in an equally condesending tone. From her desk, Agent Ziva David supressed a laugh. Tony shot the other agent a look and Ziva turned away, her laughter still audible.

"Noelle, do you like computer games?" Special Agent Tim McGee asked.

"You have games?" Noelle's intrest was piqued, and her blue eyes lit up.

"I have a few games."

"What games?"

"Solitaire, Hearts and Minesweeper." McGee answered.

"Do you have 'The Sims 2'?" Noelle asked.

"Ah, no I don't." McGee stammered.

"Too bad. My friend Ainslee has that game and it's fun." Noelle said as she twirled side to side in the chair.

"Aren't you a little young for games like that?" Tony queried.

"No."

"DiNozzo, stop teasing her and get back to work." Gibbs bellowed. He breezed through the bullpen and stopped at the desk where Noelle sat. "How would you like a tour." he asked.

"Will it be any fun?"

"As fun as you make it." Gibbs said. "C'mon I'll show you around." Noelle got up from her chair and followed Gibbs. She stopped at Tony's desk and rested her hands on the desktop.

"You're childish." she said, giving him a glare. Noelle walked away and joined Gibbs for her tour.

"And you're too big for your britches!" Tony yelled after the little girl.

"Tony, must you antagonize the Director's daughter." Ziva wanted to know.

"She's precocious."

"She's a child."

Ziva shook her head at her co-worker and went back to work on her reports.

"What's that?" Noelle pointed to an instrument that was laid out on the metal table.

"These are used for cutting the ribcage open when I do an autopsy." Dr. Mallard, Ducky, said to the wide-eyed little girl.

"They look like bush cutters." Noelle said in awe.

Ducky smiled at the little girl as he put the large clippers away.

"Did you ever find anything gross in a body? Noelle asked.

"Well, my dear, I have found lots of 'gross' things in a body."

"Like what?"

"Do you know what an impacted colon means?" Ducky asked.

Noelle shook her head and listened intently to what Ducky was going to say. Gibbs watched the little girl's facial expressions change with every passing sentance of Ducky's story. Once and a while she'd giggle at what he said, or make a face and say "Ewww!" As he watched, Gibbs couldn't help but compare Noelle's facial features to that of his daughter's. Their eyes were the same color, they both had a dimple in their left cheek, they also had a similar facial structure, though, Noelle's face shape was a little more pixie-like than the cherubic facial features his daughter had once possessed.

"Are you ready to meet Abby?" Gibbs asked Noelle once Ducky had finished his story.

Noelle hopped down from her chair and bid good-bye to Ducky.

"I'm hungry." Noelle said after they had left autopsy.

"Didn't you eat breakfast?"

"My mom gave me a granola bar, but it was yucky so I threw it out the window on the freeway. And I got some sticky stuff on my dress!"

Noelle laughed, revealing the gap where her two front teeth had been.

"I see the tooth fairy has been to your house."

"I lost five teeth already." Noelle said, holding up her hand for emphasis. "Guess what!"

"What?"

"The tooth fairy gave me $100! I think she's a thief though cause the next day mommy was looking for her money and she didn't have any. We had to go to the ATM to get more."

Gibbs just smiled at the little girl.

"Do you have kids?" Noelle asked when they got on the elevator.

"I had a daughter." Gibbs replied.

"What happened to her?" Noelle pressed.

"You ask alot of questions."

"My mom says I'm nosy, but she's wrong."

"Oh yeah, what do you call it then?"

"Being inquisitive." Noelle replied, "You didn't answer my question."

"My daughter was just a little older than you when she died."

"Was she sick?"

Before Gibbs could answer, the elevator dinged and the doors opened. He didn't let the little girl know he was glad he didn't have to answer anymore of her questions.

"Gibbs." Abby greeted happily, "Who's your friend?" Abby smiled at Noelle.

"I'm Noelle Colleen Sheppard, and I'm seven years old." Noelle informed. Abby looked down at the petite child and then back at Gibbs.

"Well then." was all Abby could manage to say before Tony and McGee walked in.

"If it isn't Little Miss Precocious." Tony said when he saw Noelle.

"If I told my mom what you just called me, she'd fire you in a second." Noelle kicked Tony in the shin and ran off.

"Someone should wash that kids mouth out with soap the way the nanny used to." Tony muttered.

"Are you sure it wasn't chlorine bleach DiNozzo?" Gibbs retorted. He had to follow Noelle and make sure she didn't get into any trouble.

Gibbs found the red-headed child in the squad room. She was sitting at Tony's desk drawing mad faces all over his computer screen with permanent marker.

"If you have a problem with Tony, just hit him upside the head." Gibbs whispered to the girl as he extracted the marker from her hand.

"I can't reach." Noelle protested. Her facial expression was serious and Gibbs couldn't help but smile. "Hitting isn't nice you know. Mrs. Waters, my teacher, tells me that all the time."

"Why does your teacher say that all the time?" Gibbs asked.

"Because." Noelle shrugged, suddenly at a loss for words. She looked up at Gibbs, her blue eyes full of uncertainty and a hint of shame. "Cause I hit Blake Farley in the face."

"Why?"

"Cause he said I was weird." Noelle said.

"Now why would anyone call you weird?" Gibbs pressed.

"Blake said I was weird cause I don't have a dad."

"Lot's of kids don't have a dad, that doesn't make them weird."

"Yes it does." Noelle protested.

"Why's that?"

"Because." Noelle shrugged again, "Because-well it just does."

"Does Blake have a dad?"

Noelle nodded, "He lives in Ohio."

"See, Blake's dad doesn't live with him. Wouldn't he be weird?"

"He goes to visit his dad in the summer and two weeks at Christmas."

Now Gibbs was beginning to understand why the boy thought that Noelle was "weird", his parents were divorced, Noelle didn't know her father, and it was likely that her father didn't know she even exisisted. At least not until today. He gave the marker back to Noelle and stood up. After giving Noelle a pat on the head, he went straight to Jen's office. He had to get this straightened out now.

"Don't you ever knock Jethro?" Jen grumbled when Gibbs barged into her office.

"I need to talk to you Jen." he said.

"About what, Agent Gibbs?" Jen matched his tone with precision.

"Your daughter." Gibbs softened his voice and stared intently at Jen while images of their tryst in Paris replayed in his mind.

"What about my daughter?"

"Is she mine?" Gibbs wasted no time in getting to the point. He saw the blood drain from Jen's face when he asked the loaded question.

Jen Sheppard was pretty good at hiding her emotions from most people, but Jethro Gibbs wasn't most people, she knew that he had found out her secret the moment he met Noelle. She saw it coming, she knew that one day he'd come barging into her life and demand answers. And here he was, barging into her office doing the very thing she had feared since the moment she found out she was pregnant with his child. She couldn't keep the truth hidden for long, one trip to Abby's lab and a few drops of blood would give Jethro all the answers he was seeking. Jen knew she had to be the one to tell him.

"Yes." she answered softly. The room seemed to be teetering back and forth, and Jen's head began to swirl.

"That's all I needed to know." Jethro replied. He turned around to see the little pixie face of the red-headed seven year old. The look on her face told both adults that she had heard everything they had just said.

"Noelle." Jen took a step towards her daughter. Noelle backed away.

"You lied!" she screamed, "You lied! You told me my daddy was gone and he was never coming back!"

Gibbs walked over to the little girl and wrapped his arms around her small frame. He pulled her to him and let her cry on his shoulder.

"Shhh, it's okay." he repeated in a soft whisper. It was as if once dormant feelings began to sweep over him once more.

Jen stood there watching Gibbs comfort the sobbing child. Her heart ached to hold her daughter and tell her it was all going to be alright, but she knew that Noelle wouldn't go for it, and that was the last thing Jen wanted right now was to fight with her daughter.

Noelle broke free from Gibbs' grasp and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"I hate you mommy." the little girl spat. "You are the meanest mommy in the whole world."

"Noelle." Jen began, "Noelle, let me explain."

It was too late, Noelle ran from the office leaving Jen and a very angry Jethro in her wake.

"How could you do that to her?" Jethro demanded, his voice raising with every syllable he uttered.

"Close the door Jethro." Jen replied.

"How could you lie to that little girl. Our little girl? How could you let her believe her father was dead?" Gibbs was even more angered than he was a moment ago. He slammed the door with such force that it rocked the glass frames on Jen's desk.

"I..." Jen stammered.

"You know what Jen, I think you're afraid. I think you're afraid something might happen to her like it happened to Riley." Gibbs gave Jen an evil eye as he compared Noelle to his older daughter Riley.

"You're right. I don't want my daughter to go through what Riley went through. I don't want Noelle to suffer like Riley suffered. Children are supposed to be protected Jethro, and loved and wanted, and needed..."

"I did my damnednest to protect Riley. I loved her as much as any father could love his daughter."

"And you walked out on her when she needed you the most. I wasn't going to put Noelle through that mess. You had your chance with Riley and you let it slip away. You walked away from your own flesh and blood and look where it got her. She's in a cemetary, lying six feet under all because of your negligence."

"Her mother put her in that grave." Jethro snapped and he walked out on Jen and slammed the door behind him.

"Now what?" Jen mumbled to herself as she began to right the frames on her walls. She shook her head and frowned as she picked up a broken frame. She laughed at the similarity between the broken frame in her hand and the broken relationship she had with both Jethro and Noelle. Whatever happened next, Jen knew she had to make this right.

Noelle didn't know where she was going when she left the building and burst out into the sunlight. She had to get away from her mother and let all the information sink into her seven year old brain. She brushed the tears away and sat down on a park bench.

"Are you lost little girl?" a man asked as he sat down next to Noelle. Noelle looked up at the man and shook her head. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm not supposed to talk to strangers." Noelle whispered. She eyed the man with frightened blue eyes.

"Well then why don't you tell me your name?" the man prodded. Noelle didn't answer. "My name is Ari." the man told Noelle. "What's your name?"

"Noelle."

"Such a pretty name." Ari smiled at the girl.

"Thank you." Noelle stood up and began to walk away. She was hungry and she wanted to ask her mom if they could go to McDonalds for dinner. As she walked, Noelle began to panic. She couldn't remember the way back to NCIS Headquarters. She turned around and there was the same man from the bench, Ari. He knelt down to her level and looked in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I can't remember the way back to my mommy's work." Noelle cried, "Her and my daddy work there."

"What does your mother do?"

"She's the Director at NCIS. Her name is Jenny Sheppard."

"What about your father?"

"Mommy said he was up in heaven with the angels. But she was wrong. He was here all the time."

"Here?"

"In Virginia. He's a Special Agent. His names Gibbs."

Ari smiled a knowing smile. He stood and put his hand on Noelle's shoulder. He had a plan bubbling in the back of his mind. He'd kidnap Noelle and hold her for ransom. That would get Gibbs' attention.

"Let's go find you father." Ari guided the girl out of the park and to his car. He helped Noelle in the backseat and buckled her in. Glancing in the rearview mirror, he smiled at the girl.

"Have you seen Noelle?" Gibbs asked Abby.

"Nope. Are you looking for her?"

"Jen and I need to speak to her."

"She knows." Abby said, stopping Gibbs in his tracks. Gibbs looked at Abby, a questioning look in his eyes. "Oh come on Gibbs, it's not that hard to notice. She looks just like you, aside from the red hair I mean."

"If you see her, let her know her mother and I want to see her." Gibbs thanked Abby and left the lab. His gut was telling him something wasn't right. He didn't know what it was yet, but the nagging feeling that Noelle was in danger wouldn't leave him alone.

Gibbs went back to the Squad Room to see if his team had seen Noelle. Tony was busy scrubbing the marker off his computer screen, McGee and Ziva were both working on reports for the past weeks cases.

"DiNozzo! McGee! David!" Gibbs bellowed. All three of his team members snapped their heads in his direction. A chorus of "Yes boss" followed. "Have any of you seen Noelle?"

"The little pipsqueak finally got tired of hanging around here?" Tony mumbled. Gibbs slapped him upside the head. "Thanks boss." he added.

"Gibbs, Director Sheppard needs you in her office now." Ziva said as she set the phone back in the cradle.

When Gibbs burst through the door of Jen's office, he found her staring out the window at the world below.

"Noelle come back up here yet?" he asked.

"She's not coming Jethro." Jen replied, her voice subdued and chocked with emotion. Gibbs was confused and his silence made Jen turn to face him. "He's got her Jethro."

Gibbs knew in an instant that the "he" Jen was referring to was Ari. How that was humanly possible was a question in itself. He had seen Ziva put a bullet in Ari's head, he watched as the very breath of life oozed out of the bastard. He knew Ziva wasn't the kind of person to betray him. She would have to much to lose if she did. Now he needed Ziva's assistance in finding Noelle.

"I need coffee." he muttered to himself. Gibbs left Jen's office and headed for the squadroom. "David!" he bellowed. Ziva was on her feet in a second and chasing after Gibbs. She had learned from past mistakes, that when you are called upon, you must go without a seconds hesitation. A seconds hesitation could mean the difference between your job and a silent accolade from Gibbs.

"Officer David," Gibbs grumbled as he stopped the elevator, "Explain to me one thing, how is it that your brother is alive?"

"Ari's alive? Impossible. I shot him." Ziva replied. The emergency lights in the elevator cast an eerie shadow on Gibbs' face. For a moment, Ziva felt afraid.

"He kidnapped the Director's daughter. Now you mind telling me what that bastard is doing walking the streets."

"Unless he is some sort of spirit of the undead, which is not possible, my brother was, how you say, dead-er than a door screw." Ziva said. "They buried him Gibbs. My father and his sons, buried Ari last fall. He cannot be alive."

"Do they know?"

"That I shot him? No, they do not. If they did, I would be killed on the spot."

"We need to find Noelle."

"I know." Ziva sighed. She felt horribly responsible for what happened to Noelle Sheppard, even though she had no idea Ari was still alive.

"I thought you said we were gonna find my mommy." Noelle said to her captor.

Ari looked down at the little girl in his presence and smiled at her.

"There's been a change in plans." he said to her. "You are going to come with me."

Noelle was beginning to get scared. She didn't know this man who was helping her, and her mother had told her never to go with strangers.

"My mommy will be mad if I don't come back." Noelle said. "Why don't you drop me off here."

Ari looked in the rearview mirror at the girl. One thing he noticed, was that she was a good negotiator.

"You will make a good lawyer." he said to her. Noelle looked at him, a look of confusion on her face.

"How come you talk funny?" Noelle asked.

"I am not from here." Ari replied, indulging in the little girls questions.

"Where are you from?"

"Israel."

"Oh, like where that mermaid Ariel Sharon is from?" Noelle asked, mispronouncing the man's name.

"Mermaid?"

"Yeah, you know The Little Mermaid movie? The mermaid's name is Ariel. And the man on t.v. his name is Ariel Sharon."

Ari laughed at the child's refrence. "How do you know about Prime Minister Ariel Sharon?" he asked, pronouncing the dignitary's name correctly.

"I watch the news." Noelle quipped, "Is he still sick?"

"Yes."

"Oh, that's too bad." Noelle was silent for a minute. Then she spoke up again, "Do you have any brothers or sisters?"  
"Yes."

"How many?"

"Six brothers and five sisters."

"Wow thats alot! I don't have any brothers or sisters. I told my mommy I want a baby sister for my birthday, but she said she needs a man first. I told her that I'd be old by then."

Once again, Ari laughed, and once again Noelle was silent.

"Agent Gibbs said that you killed a girl named Kate."

"Yes I did." Ari answered truthfully.

"Why?" Noelle asked. "It's not nice to do that to people. You should say your sorry."

"I did a very wrong thing. For reasons you would not understand."

"Are you gonna kill me?" Noelle asked softly.

"No."

"Good, cause I have Jessie's birthday party on Friday and I don't want to miss it. It's a sleepover!" Noelle said with excitement, "Can I go home now?"

"Patience child." Ari glanced at Noelle from the mirror, he noticed that her eyes were beginning to close. Soon Noelle was asleep. Ari drove on.


End file.
